Abstract: Objective To understand the microbial contamination of catering foods in Hainan Province, and provide evidence for food safety risk assessment, formulation of supervision measures and revision of food safety standard. Methods Five categories of food including student order meal, order take-out food, restaurant beverages, meat products, aquatic products, and bottled water conducted by drinking fountain from 20 cities and counties (prefectures) of Hainan Province were collected during 2014 and 2015. Hygienic indicators like aerobic plate count, coliforms, mildew, and microbial pathogens like Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa were detected. Results A total of 1,407 samples were detected. The detection rates of Listeria monocytogenes in frozen meat products (meatballs) and frozen surimi like fish balls were 0.9% and 1.2% respectively. The detection rates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (56.7%) and coliforms (77.8%) in bottled drinking conducted by water fountain were relatively high. The qualification rates of aerobic plate count (66.1%) and coliforms (71.2%) in restaurant beverages were relatively low. Staphylococcus aureus was found in 11% of the student meal. Conclusions Bottled drinking conducted by water fountain was generally subject to microbial contamination in Hainan Province in 2014-2015. The safety of meat product, restaurant beverages, edible ice, student meal and order take-out food was not optimistic.